News & Updates

Many of the major climate commitments agreed on in Paris last December were made voluntarily, and now is the time to ramp up engagement to keep the international community on track, says Michael Northrop, in the latest issue of Alliance Magazine.

The Fund’s Sustainable Development program director reflects on the atmosphere of the UN climate conference in Paris and highlights 80 agreements and achievements which contributed to the landmark meeting.

On December 2, 2015, May Boeve of 350.org and Stephen Heintz of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, announced that more than 500 institutions representing over $3.4 trillion in assets have made some form of divestment commitment. The announcement was made during the first week of the U.N. climate conference in Paris, France.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is proud to support the Paris climate agreement as a monumental step forward for the world. This agreement would never have been possible without a strong, vital climate movement, an impassioned groundswell of work from the local and state levels building from the ground up, and a historic shift among investors and businesses.

Ahead of the Paris conference on climate change, The New York Times created an interactive feature to explain how pledges by countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will affect global temperatures. “The Climate Change Pledges Are In. Will They Fix Anything?” used data and scenarios from a simulation model built by RBF grantee Climate Interactive.

RBF President Stephen Heintz spoke alongside fellow panelists Rev. Hendrik Grape of the Church of Sweden, James Randerson of The Guardian, moderator May Boeve of 350.org, and Julia Christian of Fossil Free SOAS. (Photo courtesy of Reinhard Bütikofer)